Base-ball-pitchiwg mechanism



D. S'TROUP.

BASE BALL PITCHING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 7, 1916. v

` Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

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Dr STROUP.

'BASE BALL PITCHING MECHANISM.

APPLLICATION FILED JAN. l?. 1916.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

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D. STROUP.

BASEBALL PITCHING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. l?. 1916.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

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n sTRoUP. BASE BALL PITCHING MECHANISM.

- APPLICATION FILED JAN. I7, 1916. 1,194,093.

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Patented Aug. 8,1916.

DEE sTRoUP, or CLEVELAND, oHIo.

BASE-BALL-PITCHING MECHNISM.

LMPTQS.

Speecaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 31916..

Application led January 17, 1916. Serial No. 72,491.

l tion.

'Ihis invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inbase-ball pitching mechanism and it has for its objects among others toprovide an improved device of this character which may be readilyinstalled in any place of amusement, park, business place, in the openair or under cover, Where it can be used for batting practice oramusement, and by building it of proper size an indoor base-ball may beused instead of the ordinary base-ball.

It has for a further object to provide for all the adjustment necessarywhereby one man with a lever control can operate twoA machines at thesaine time and by the simple adjustment of a lever he can throw the ballclose to the batter or over the plate or far enough to one side so thatthe batter will not be able to reach it at all. I also provide for suchadjustment that either a swift ball or a slow ball can be thrown, and byanother adjustment I am enabled to throw a high or a low ball, and bymanipulating the adjustment the operator can mix up the variety of ballsso as to fool the batter, and afford much amusement to the spectators.

I provide an artificial floor slanting from the batter toward all sidesof the building or the required distance if out of doors to a trough,and a screen or netting of any kind may be used to inclose the battersothat all balls thrown by the machine, whether batted or not may strikeit and return by way of the slanting Hoor to the operator. I 'mayprovide a background consisting` of four pieces, each piece fastened ateach end `to represent first, second and third base and the home plate,just in front of the machine or just back of it, as may be best suitedac-j cording to the place where the machine is set up, which will be forballs to strike against when batted, to decide whether it is a fair orfoul ball, a one-base hit, a twobase hit, a three-base hit, or a homerun, each base line being set a little back of the other so that if theball hits on any base strip of canvas it will not touch the others andmay fall down between and return to the machine, whereas if one piece ofcanvas is used with the base lines painted or printed thereon and a ballstrikes on a line in the center, it would cause a dispute as to whichbase it hit.

The device may be made in sections readily assembled and easily andquickly set up and as quickly taken apart and compactly arranged forshipment or storage.

I may employ any kind of hand power lever for operating the throwing armas well as any kind of levers to adjust the side shift, spring tightenerand bumper arm. Further I may use any kind of motor and gear to operatethe same, whether worm gear or belts and pulleys or a chain drive.

@ther objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appearand the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which, with the numerals of reference marked thereon, form a part 0fthis specification, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation of adevice constructed in accordance with my present invention with portionsbroken away. Fig. 2 is a substantially central vertical longitudinalsection with parts in elevation. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of theelevator mechanism. Fig. l represents in face and side views the ballholding device. Fig. 5 is a detail in top plan with a portion insection. F 6 is a top plan of the operating levers. Fig. 7 is a faceview of the throwing arm. Fig. 8 is a cross section on the line 8 8 ofFig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows. F ig. 9 is a detail, intop plan, of the pulleys for the operating cord or chain. Fig. l0 is atop plan of the motor, its worin shaft and thecoperating gear, etc. Fig.1l is a side elevation of Fig. 10.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

The present drawings illustrate one form of embodiment of the invention.

In such drawings, l designates a post or upright adapted to be supportedin any suitable manner in any required position.

2 is a pulley mounted on an axle 3 supported in said post and over whichpasses rope, cord or other ligament 4, one end of which is connected, asat 5, to an operating lever 6 pivotally mounted at its lower end, as at7, to any fixed member as the block 8, Soo Figs, ,l and, 2, The otherend of said cord or ligament 4, after passing around the pulley 2,extends substantially horizontally and passes over a pulley or guide9'on a shaft 10 mounted in a suitable bearing in a bracket or the like11 and is attached, as 12,.to a gravity dog or pawl 13.

The lever 6 extends upwardly and is provided with a handle portion 14,and intermediate its ends this lever works between the rollers 15 and 16mounted on the slide 17, the shafts 1S and 19 of said rollers working inslots 20 in horizontal members 21, which latter are secured by suitablemeans, as 22, to the upright 1 and to opposite members 23 and 24 of asupplemental Hoor soon to be described. The end of the member 17farthest from the post 1 has .an extension 25 provided with a transverseopening 26, seen clearly in Figs. 2 and 5.

As seen in Fig. 5, the lower end of the lever 6 is free for movementlaterally as is also the member 17 carrying the rollers 15 and 16. rihisis for theV purpose of permitting lateral movement of the member 17 sothat the opening 26 thereof may be brought into cooperative` .relationwith the hook 27 of the sheave carrier 28 or with the hook 29 of theslieave carrier 30, as may be required when it is desired to operate twomachines, and by throwing the member 17 to the right or left the rightor left-hand machine may be operated, it being understood that whenmoved to the left the hook Y 27 is engaged in the opening 26 so that theleft-hand machine may be operated and when the member 17 is moved to theright the opening member 26 thereof is brought into position to receivethe hook 29 so that vthe right-hand machine may be operated.

rhe sheave carriers 28 and 30 are mounted for independent longitudinalsliding movement in the members 21. The carrier 28 has journaled thereina sheave or pulley 31, while the carrier 30 has journaled therein a.sheave or pulley 32. The axles 33 and 34 of these sheaves or pulleys areguided in longitudinal slots 35 in the members 21 which, as shown inFig. 1, may be continuations of the slots 20.

36 is a cord or ligament, one end of which is secured in any suitablemanner, as at 37, to 1a cross bolt or the like 38 fixed in the members21, as seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, and

thence over the sheave or pulley 31 and then downward under a sheave orpulley 39 Y mounted on a shaft 40 supported in an upright 41 and thenceforward, passing through an 'opening 42 in a sliding member 43, whichmember, in the present instance, is

.- shown as provided with lateral pins or the like 44 (see Fig. 8)movable in the guides 45 in the side members 46 and 47 of the plat` form48. After passing through this member 43, there is provided upon theligament 36 a stop member 49 which may be in the a shaft 53 supported inthe platform or the like 54, the said cord or ligament then passingupward, as seen clearly in Fig. 3, andV through a guide 55 and over apulley 56 carried by tlieshaft 57, thence horizontally and over a pulley53 on a shaft r59, and

thence downward and connected to an elevating bucket oi' receptacle60,`bywhichthe ball is carried upto be delivered to the throwing orpitching arm. Connected with the ligament 36, as at Y36, is .a cord V36bwhich, after passing over a pulley 36c carried by a shaft 36d, dependsdownward .and carries a counterbalance weight-36e, all as clearly shownin Fig. 3. Y y

The elevator is provided preferably with an inclined bottom 61, asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and is further provided with a flapor pivoted member 62V piv- Y oted, as at 63, and held in the inclinedposi-Y tion in whichit is seen in dotted lines at theV bottom of Fig. 3until the elevator reaches a point opposite the opening 64, see Fig. 1,when, its free edge being no longer supported by the guiding wall inwhich the elevator moves, drops by gravity into the downwardly inclinedposition in which it` is seen in dotted lines'near the midheight of Fig.3, thus permitting the ball to run down said member which nowconstitutes an inclined floor or extension to the inclined floor 61, andupon the curved guide member 65 which serves to conduct the ball downand into the ball-receiving member 66, as shown by dotted lines in Fig.2, the said member being in its position to receive the ball as it dropsdown the said guideway.

In the use of the apparatus, the batter, of course, stands beyond theupright l, that is, to the left thereof, as viewed from Figs. 1

and 2, and in order to convey the balls back rom the batter to theelevator, I provide a supplemental {ioor 67, as indicated in Figs.

1 and 2, which inclines in all directions to-v ward a trough 63, whichlatter is indicated Y in Fig. 3, being supported by any suitablesupports, as the uprights 69, and this trough is designed to deliver theballs by gravitation into a supplemental pivoted trough pivoted at 71,as seen in Fig. 3, and provided with a depending stop member 72, which,

when the supplemental trough A70 is in;V the Y position in which it isseen in full lines in Fig. 3, serves to close the outlet from the trough68 and thus prevents the passage of the balls therefrom.Y .When thistrough 70 iso is lowered into its horizontal position, as indicated bydotted lines in Fig. 3, the stop member 72 is moved downward into aposition where it no longer impedes the passage of the ball from thetrough 68 and the first or lowermost ball in said trough 68 moves bygravity into the trough 70. In order that only one ball at a time maypass from the trough 68 into the trough 70, I provide a pin 73 fixed inany suitable manner in an upright 74 and slightly inclined, as shown,which pin is adapted to engage in an opening 75 in the movable trough70, as indicated by the dotted line position in Fig. 3, and thus stopthe ball which is prevented from moving along the trough until thelatter is again moved into its inclined position, that indicated by fulllines in Fig. 3, and when in such position the member 72 again servesasl a stop to prevent the passage of the next ball out of the trough 68until the supplemental trough 70 is again brought into its horizontalposition. The preponderance of weight of the trough 7 0 being to theleft of its pivot, as seenin Fig. 3, the trough 70 will normally be heldin its horizontal position. In order that it may be thrown from suchposition when the elevator 60 is lowered, said trough 70 is providedwith an extension or trip arm 76 which extends beneath the elevator 60and when the latter is lowered, the weight thereof upon the trip arm 7 6serves to throw the pivoted trough 70 from its normal horizontalposition into the inclined position in which it is shown in full linesin Fig. 3.

The elevator is guided by the uprights 7 7 which are secured in anysuitable manner to the outer wall of the inclosure or housing 78 withinwhich the throwing arm and the bumper arm are disposed. If desired, thishousing or inclosure 78 may be provided with a suitable door 79 hinged,as at 80, to permit ready access to the inclosed parts whenever occasionmay require.

81 is the throwing arm pivoted, as at 82, and carryin at its free endthe ball holder 66. The ba l-receiving member 66 may be of any suitableform of construction, but, in

the present instance, I have chosen to show it as comprising the member83, the side arms of which arepivoted, as at 84, to the arm 81 so thatthey may be moved thereon when desired and in order to adjust thismember 83 so as to change the inclination of the member 83 I provide themember 85 pivotally connected, as at 86, and branched, if desired, asseen in Fig. 4 at the left, the other end of said member 85 beingscrewthreaded, as at 87, and supported in a suitable eye or the like 88upon opposite sides of which are the nuts-89 and 90. It will thus bereadily understood that byl this means the member 85'may be moved up ordown and the member '33 thus inclinedto the right or left (as viewedfrom Fig. 4 at the right), as may be desired to give a differentmovement to the ball as it is thrown by the arm in a manner which willsoon be set forth. The ball 91 is held within this holder but so as tobe readily thrown and released therefrom when the holder is brought fromthe position in which it is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to thatshown by full lines in said figure.

The throwing or pitching arm 81 is actuated as follows a cord, orligament 92, has one end attached thereto, as at 93, at a pointsubstantially midway the length of said arm, as seen in Fig. 2, andafter passing under a pulley 94 on a shaft 95, extends forward and lissecured, as at 96, to a lug 97 on the sliding member 43, as seen clearlyin Fig. 2. Consequently, as the member 43 is moved suddenly in thedirection of the arrow seen in Fig. 2, the arm 81 will be thrown fromits full line position in Fig. 2 to its dotted line position in saidfigure, where it receives the ball 91 which has been delivered theretodown the guideway 65. The throwing or pitching arm 81 is thrown suddenlyfrom its dotted line position in Fig. 2 to its full line position inFig. 3 by a powerful spring 98, as seen in said Fig. 2, which spring isconnected at one end, as at 99,1to any suitable means on the arm 81adjacent its pivot, there being preferably two of such springs, as seenin Fig. 7. The spring 98, or both springs, if two are employed, will beconnected in any suitable manner to a cord or ligament 100 which passesunder a sheave or pulley 101, as seen in Figs. 2 and 7, the said pulley101 being mounted on a suitable shaft 102 and the ligament 100 thenceextended upwardly and forwardlyand over a pulley 103 on a shaft 104 andthence forward under a pulley 105 on a shaft 106 on the post 41 andthence upward where its end is attached at 107 to an actuating lever108. This lever is pivotally mounted, as at 109, and carries aspringactuated pawl engaging a. toothed ratchet 110, for an obviouspurpose.

111 is a bumper arm pivotally mounted, as at 112, and carrying asuitable bumper or cushion 113 at one end, the other end havingconnected therewith, as at 114, one end of a cord or ligament 115, asseen clearly in Fig. 2. This ligament 115 passes over a pulley 116 onthe shaft 117 and thence under the pulley 118 carried by the shaft 104,see Fig. 9, and thence forward and under a pulley on the shaft 106 andthence upward with its upper end attached to one end of the lever 119,as seen in Fig. 6, the said lever being provided with a pawl designed toengage the toothed ratchet 120, see Fig. 6.

121 is a spring connected with the upper end of the bumper arm 111 tonormally hold the same in the position in which it is indicated in Fig.2,

122 is another lever carrying a springactuated pawl adapted to coperatewith a toothed ratchet 123, see Fig. 6, and to the end of this lever isattached a cord or ligament 124 which, after passing around a pulley125, is attached at 126 to the block 127 which is pivotally mounted, asat 123, see Fig. 2, and which is mounted on rollers 129, as seen best inFig. 7, and which carries the throwing arm and its accessories.

A powerful spring 130, see Fig. 7, is provided to normally hold theparts in normal .position and to return them to such position afterpower Vis-removed from the ligament 124.

' The device7 as hereinbefore described, is designed to be operated bymanipulation of the lever 6, that is for throwing the ball. The levers103, 119 and 122 are for control of the throwing` arm, the bumper armand for the lateral adjustment of the parts. It may sometimes bedesirable to operate` the device by other than hand power and in suchcase motor mechanism, such as seen in Figs. 10 and 11, may be employed.In these v figures, 131 is a motor, preferably an electric motor, and132 a worm shaft mounted in suitable bearings 133 on the supports 134,see Fig. 11, and the worm 135 thereof meshing with a worm gear 136rotatably mounted on the base 137, and cari-ving upon its upper face alug 13S, as seen best in Fig. 10. 139 i is an arm pivoted to the collar140 by suit able'ineans, as dowel pins 141. The outer end of this armhas a pin 142, to which the cord or ligament 3G may be attached in anysuitable manner. In operation, the worm 135, meshing with the gear 136,rotates the latter and turns the same until the lug 138 contacts withthe arm 139 which is then forced around with the gear in the directionof the arrow in Fig. 10 until it passes the center and then strikesagainst the end 143 of the lug 13S which may be provided with anysuitable cushioning device. 144 is an arm pivotally mounted, as at 145,and having connected therewith a cord or ligament 146 designed to beoperated in any suitable manner and when pulled upon throws the member144 upward, causing the same to impinge against the under side of thearm 139, raising the same out of the path of the lug 133, so that thelug will pass under said arm and not actuate the latterand,consequently, not work the machine. 147 is a depending pin or supportcarried by the arm 139 and adapted to slide on the upper face of thegear 136.

YVith the parts constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbeforedescribed and as illustrated in the drawings, the operation, brieflystated, is as follows: With the lever 6, the throwing or pitching arm 81and the movable member 43 in the dotted line position in Fig. 1, thedevice is loaded, that is the ball 91 is in the holder 66 and the partsY are in position to be released for throwing or pitching the ball. Thedog 13 is in engagement with the lug 43a on the member V 43, holding thelatter in its eXtreme position to the left. When it is desired to throwthe ball, the operator moves the lever 6 in the I dium of the inclinedsupplemental floor 67V through the trough 68 .into positionto bedelivered to the trough 70 and froinfthence to theelevator 60, and whenthe lever 6 isV again moved from its full line position in Fig. 2 to thedotted line position in Vsaid figure, the elevator is raised through themedium of the cord 36 and connections and another ball is delivered tothe ball-holding device 66, it being understoodthat'in the meantime, bythe manipulation of said lever 6, the throwing arm 81 has been carriedto its dotted line position in Fig. 2.

vWhen it is desired to mix them up, that is to throw succeeding ballsVin different ways so as to confuse the batteinffthe levers 108, 119 and122 are manipulated in accordance with the character of the ball to bethrown Aand by manipulation of these levers the operator is enabled tothrow a fast or slow ball, an in-curve, or an out-curve, or a high orlow ball, as maybe desired, controlled by the manipulation of the levers108, 119 and 122 to change the relative position of theholder G6 or thebumper arm 11 or the relation of the throwing arm to the batter, thesemovements being accomplished by reason of the pivoting at 123 and theproper manipulation of the levers above mentioned. Y

1t is to be noted that tlielug 43tand the dog 13 have their contactingfaces oppcsitely V beveled in one directionV and right-angled in theother, so that as the member 43 is movedto the left the contacting'faceofthe lug thereon rides upon the inclined face of the dog so as to allowit to pass the same and when Vonce passed the right-angled faces preventretrograde or return movement thereof until the pawl or dog 13 is raisedby the manipulation of the lever 6 through the medium of the partsactuated thereby.

By means of the construction shown in Fig. 5, I make the one-.leverVserve for -two throwing arms, it being understood that, as shown in saidligure, the lever is in neutral licV position and with the parts in suchposition its manipulation would not actuate anything, but by moving thelever 6 in the direction of the arrow l until the opening 26 therein isengaged by the lug 27 and then moving the lever, as hereinbeforedescribed, the device is operated as above set forth. By moving thelever 6 in the direction of the arrow 2 in Fig. 5 until the opening 26is engaged by the lug 29 and then manipulating thelever 6, as abovedescribed, another throwing arm will be actuated in the same manner andby duplication of the connections hereinbefore described in connectionwiththe cord 36, etc.

When it is desired to dispense with the hand-operated mechanism, theelectric motor device shown in Figs. 10 and ll is substituted.Generally, however, the device will be hand-operated, as hereinbeforeparticularly described.

Modifications in detail may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Vhat is claimed as new is 1. In a ball-throwing machine, a pivotallymounted throwing arm, actuating means therefor, an elevator and pivotedmeans carried by the elevator for delivering the ball to the throwingarm at a predetermined time.

2. In a ball-throwing machine, an elevator, a pivoted trough, aninclined way for deliver-ing balls to the trough, a stop member carriedby the trough, and means coperating with the trough to prevent thedelivery of more than one ball at a time.

3. In a ball-throwing machine, an elevator, a pivoted trough, aninclined way for delivering balls to the trough, a stop member carriedby the trough, means coperating with the trough to prevent the deliveryof more than one ball at a time, and a pivoted member carried by theelevator to deliver a ball therefrom.

at. In a ball-throwing machine, an elevator, a pivoted trough, aninclined way for delivering balls tothe trough, a stop member carried bythe trough, means coperating with the trough to prevent the delivery ofmore than one ball at a time, a pivoted member carried by the elevatorto deliver a ball therefrom, and a pivoted throwing arm.

5. In a ball-throwing machine, an elevator, a pivoted trough, aninclined way for delivering balls to the trough, a stop member carriedby the trough, means coperating with the trough to prevent the deliveryof more than one ball at a time, a pivoted member carried by theelevator to deliver a ball therefrom, a pivoted throwing arm, and aball-guiding member for delivering a ball discharged from the elevatorto the ballthrowing arm.

6. In a ball-throwing machine, a pivoted throwing arm, means foractuating the same, an elevator controlled by said actuating means, atrough for delivering balls to the elevator, an inclined way for guidingthe balls to the trough, and means whereby the trough is actuated by theelevator.

7 In a ballthrowing machine, a pivoted throwing arm, means for actuatingthe same, an elevator controlled by said actuating means, a trough fordelivering balls to the elevator, an inclined way for guiding the ballsto the trough, means whereby the trough is actuated by the elevator, anda stop carried by the trough movable into the path of the balls fromsaid inclined way.

8. In a ball-throwing machine, a pivoted throwing arm, an elevator fordelivering a ball thereto, a lever and connections for controlling saidarm and moving said elevator, and means for throwing said arm to onelside 0r the other to vary the character of the throw thereof.

9. In a ball throwing machine, a pivoted lever, a laterally movablemember carried thereby and a plurality of ball-throwing mechanismseither one of which may be actuated by said lever.

10. In a ball-throwing machine, a pivoted throwing arm, means foractuating the same, an elevator, means carried by the elevator fordelivering the ball to the throwing arm at a predetermined time, and anadjustable bumper arm for limiting the movement of the throwing arm toproduce either a low or high ball.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

DEE STRUUP.

Vitnesses:

THoMAs MYERS, WALLACE M. JENNINGS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

